Two Bills Drive

‘His ability to find talent in the football hinterlands made names like Don Beebe of Chadron State, Phil Hansen of North Dakota and Marcellus Wiley of Columbia a big reason the Bills averaged 10 wins per year during Butler’s 14 seasons in their front office.’

Marv Levy once described John as a guy who builds morale. I witnessed that morale-building outside the cafeteria every afternoon. He would shake the player’s hand, ask how practice was going, inquire about a nagging injury, tell me a little funny story about the player to make him laugh, and ask how everyone at home was. He was old fashioned and he made them all feel special. The veterans who had been at other places before Buffalo knew it was special, and they knew the difference was John Butler. Rarely do NFL players have daily conversations with the top club executive.

I will say that the pressures of being a GM hardened John a bit through the years. His job and everything associated with it became increasingly personal. He looked at players and coaches as family, and would staunchly defend them against criticism. He found parting ways with a player, a standard part of a GM’s duties, emotionally painful and, at times, downright unbearable.

Ordway, who was with the Storm during training camp and was signed to the team’s practice squad on February 21, will replace [Corey] Sawyer in the lineup this weekend. Sawyer was placed on the Storm’s exempt list after missing the week while working out for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.

‘“You always hear about trying to build your team with speed, especially defensively,” Williams said. “You want to set land speed records, and that’s helped in the kind of guys we’ve brought in here. We like the fact we can pose some matchup problems for the offense.”’

‘The Bills could use another option in their pass rush. At one end they have Aaron Schobel, who is developing into a nice player. He had 6 1/2 sacks as a rookie and 8 1/2 last season. At the other end is Marcus Jones, whom President and General Manager Tom Donahoe shrewdly signed in November. Jones tore cartilage in his knee last August and was cut by the Bucs at midseason.’

‘The Bills were a team of stars in the glory years, but Butler and his scouts had a rare gift for identifying late-round picks – Jeff Wright, Marvcus Patton, Carlton Bailey, Mike Lodish – the list goes on and on. He and A.J. Smith, the pro personnel guy he took with him to San Diego, had a knack for plucking the right free agents, too.’

‘Spurred by Butler’s deft drafting, the Bills went 140-83 in that period —- second only to the San Francisco 49ers —- and made the playoffs 10 times, including the four Super Bowls from 1991 through ’94.’

‘Smith, Butler’s right-hand man and confidant going back to their days as scouts for the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League in 1982, may find himself in charge of more than the draft. He has a good chance of becoming the Chargers’ general manager permanently, a team source said. Smith was said to have been devastated by Butler’s death and declined to be interviewed through a Chargers spokesman.’

‘His public image of tough, ex-Marine, old-school football mind was not the man I came to know in the last year. I found him to be funny but very focused on his work. And there was more depth to this man than I would have ever imagined.’

‘"It’s one of the saddest days in Bills history," said Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly. "It’s sad. But it’s really not up to us. The good Lord above picks the time when you leave, and I guess it was John’s time. The toughest thing for me is I know how much of a fighter he is and how much he always had that never-say-die attitude."’

‘Wilson is being honored for his commitment to the area and his philanthropy. He donated $25,000 to food banks in Buffalo and Rochester last holiday season and plays a leading role in the team’s relationships with Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the United Way and Ronald McDonald House.’

‘It would be nice to see his name affixed to the Wall of Fame at Ralph Wilson Stadium some day in the not-so-distant future.’

‘The exact circumstances of his exit from Buffalo and hiring in San Diego are murky.Wilson maintains that Butler had made up his mind to leave and no amount of money would have kept him with the Bills. Members of the front office say he’d have stayed had he been paid a competitive wage rather than being nickeled and dimed. No matter, 27 months ago, Butler, without a contract in Buffalo, signed with the Chargers.’

‘Levy said Butler showed up for his interview in Buffalo with a sheaf of paperwork detailing how he would conduct himself in the post for which he was being considered.’